Alice in Borderland season 3 renewal status: Everything we know so far
Alice in Borderland was a smash hit when it premiered on Netflix in December 2020. Critics and viewers enjoyed the science fiction series and were over the moon to discover that it had been renewed for a second season. But unfortunately, fans had to go through a painfully long wait to see the highly anticipated second season. However, I think it’s safe to say that Alice in Borderland season 2 was well worth the wait. Now, everyone’s wondering if the story will continue in an Alice in Borderland season 3.
The second season came out on December 2022, so it’s been quite some time since its release. While the season 2 finale may have seemed like a series finale, so much more could be explored in a third season. But is Alice in Borderland season 3 actually happening on Netflix?
We shared everything we know about the show’s fate and much more below!
How many seasons of Alice in Borderland are there?
There are only two seasons of the sci-fi series, and both are currently available to stream on Netflix. Each season has eight episodes in total, which is the typical number of episodes a Netflix show is given.
Will there be an Alice in Borderland season 3?
We hope so! As of August 15, Netflix has yet to announce if the popular sci-fi series will return with a third season. This might be worrying to many people since it’s been many months since the second season came out, and we still don’t know if a third season is happening. What’s even more worrying is that it only took two weeks from the first season’s premiere for Netflix to renew the show for a second season. We’re way past this point this time around.
But what are the chances of Alice in Borderland season 3 happening? Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that Netflix is going to renew the show for another season, primarily because the second season wraps up the storyline and ends around the same point that its source material, the manga, ends. The two seasons released right now tell a complete story.
That said, the second season fared well on the streamer. It managed to rank highly on Netflix’s global Top 10 list for non-English TV in its first four weeks on the platform. In fact, Alice in Borderland season 2 was watched for 200,550,000 million hours globally in its first month on Netflix.
Viewing hours are very important. Netflix typically looks at how many people watch a show in its first month to help decide whether to renew or cancel. Since Alice in Borderland season 2 pulled in tons of viewers, it’s possible they could use that to justify a new season. Even though it doesn’t seem likely, there are some ways that the show could continue.
Does Alice in Borderland season 3 have a release date?
Since the show hasn’t been renewed for a third season, we do not have a release date. Let’s say Netflix was to renew Alice in Borderland soon. It’ll still be a while before the streamer announces the release date because the new season would have to be filmed and then edited in post-production. Once the filmmaking process wraps up, we can expect Netflix to make the announcement.
Alice in Borderland season 2 ending explained
The second season ends with all the face cards being defeated and the surviving players being given the option to stay in the game or return to the real world. Arisu and the other players who chose to return to the real world wake up in a hospital and find out that a meteor hit Tokyo. This is what we saw happen at the beginning of the show with the fireworks, but now we know that the fireworks were actually pieces of the meteor destroying Tokyo.
When the meteor hit Tokyo, many people died, while those who were critically injured were sent to the hospital. All the people who participated in the games, such as Arisu and Usagi, had survived the blast but were at the border between life and death aka the Borderlands. When they return from the Borderlands, they have no recollection of ever being there or knowing each other. Arisu and Usagi meet at the hospital and have a strange feeling that they’ve met before but have no proof of their meeting actually happening. Still, they decide to get to know one another.
The last shot of the season shows a table full of playing cards flying away until only the Joker card remains. The camera zooms in on the Joker card’s face while suspenseful music plays in the background. Then it cuts to the credits.
What could Alice in Borderland season 3 be about?
Based on how the second season ended, the third season could center around the Joker being the new villain. Maybe the Joker is actually the mastermind behind the games, and Arisu and the rest of the surviving players are still stuck in the Borderlands.
The third season could also be adapted from one of the manga creator’s Borderland spinoffs: Alice on Border Road or Alice in Borderland Retry. However, Alice on Border Road has no connection to Alice in Borderland other than having a similar premise, while Alice in Borderland Retry is a sequel to Alice in Borderland. So, it would make sense if the creators adapted Alice in Borderland Retry for the third season.
Here’s what Alice in Borderland Retry is about via Fandom:
Retry begins with the returning protagonist Ryohei Arisu, who once again finds himself trapped in the Borderland and must therefore participate in a deadly game with other players via tactics, cooperation, and betrayal in order to survive and depart the Borderland to reunite with his wife and expecting baby.
Alice in Borderland season 3 cast: Who could be in the third season?
We do not have an official cast list for Alice in Borderland season 3 since it hasn’t been renewed yet. However, we have an idea of who could return if there is to be a third season. Given that one of the few ways the show could continue would be to either make up original material based around the mysterious Joker card or by adapting one of the spinoff series, we’d probably expect to see a new cast.
How many episodes could Alice in Borderland season 3 be?
Since the first two seasons consisted of eight episodes each, a potential third season will probably have the same amount of episodes. Maybe Netflix will bump up the episode count to 10 episodes, but eight seems more likely.
Could Alice in Borderland season 3 be rated TV-MA?
Yes. Since the first two seasons were rated TV-MA, it’s more than likely that a potential third season will have the same age rating. It’s not often that a Netflix show’s age rating changes.
When could Alice in Borderland season 3 start filming?
Since the show has not been officially renewed, there’s no way of telling when it would begin filming. Even if Netflix did drop a surprise renewal announcement in 2023, the show likely would not begin filming again until 2024. It all depends on if the scripts have been written yet.
Since Alice in Borderland is a Japanese show, it would not be affected by the ongoing WGA and SAG strikes, but it would still take time for the creators to prepare the production for a prospective third season.
Could Alice in Borderland season 3 arrive on Netflix in 2023?
Basically, there’s no chance that the third season could come out in 2023. First, the show hasn’t been renewed yet, and we’re already in late summer.
Even if the show were to be renewed in the next month or so, it would still need time for pre-production before the cameras start rolling. Production will likely last for at least four months, followed by a lengthy post-production process. There’s just no way the filmmaking process will finish up in time to make a 2023 release, even a 2024 release seems unlikely.
Unless the show has been filming in secret (very unlikely), then if Netflix renews it, we’ll be waiting until late 2024 or 2025 at the earliest for the release of a third season (or spinoff).
We’ll constantly update this space with new information about Alice in Borderland season 3 as it’s released, so stay tuned to Netflix Life!
The FanSided Entertainment Team has contributed to this article.
